Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Decreases Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 25.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,999 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 1,334.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 0.6%

VTR opened at $67.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.06 and a 200 day moving average of $65.58. The company has a market cap of $30.72 billion, a PE ratio of 157.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.68 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,157,592. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 376,932 shares of company stock valued at $24,716,734 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Ventas Profile

Ventas Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.